The vote that toppled Paul Martin's minority government

A vote of no-confidence on Nov. 28, 2005, meant Martin, the Liberals and all of the other parties would be heading into a winter election.

And when the 171-133 vote unfolded, "the end came quickly" for the Martin government, the CBC's PaulHunter reported on The National.

The Conservatives, New Democrats and Bloc Qubcois had voted in favour of bringing down the Liberals, who, stretching back to the time of Jean Chrtien, had held power since 1993.

The vote also came just 17 months after the Liberals had won a minority government.

The pending trip to the polls would bethe first to occur in winter in a quarter-century in Canada, but the parties had been expecting it and when the moment came,they had their messages ready for the electorate.

"This is not just the end of a tired, directionless, scandal-plagued government," said ConservativeLeader Stephen Harper. "It's the start of a bright, new future for this great country."

Leaders react to the pending election

19 years ago

Duration 0:38

The leaders speak to the media on the day a vote toppled the Martin government.

'They will judge us'

Martin said it would be Canadians who decided the Liberals' future:"They will judge us and they will judge our performance."

And they did:When Canadians returned to the polls in January of 2006, they saw another minority government emerge in Ottawathis time a Conservative one, with Harper, then a rookie prime minister,at the helm.

TheConservatives had gained 26 seats over thetotal they held at the dissolution ofthe previous Parliament, while the Liberals held 30 fewer seats after the election.

Martin would step down as Liberal leader, though he stayed on as the MP for LaSallemarduntil the next election.